


Nightmare

by WakeUpDreaming



Category: Scorpion (TV 2014)
Genre: Domestic, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kettle corn, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:40:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9684674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WakeUpDreaming/pseuds/WakeUpDreaming
Summary: Toby wakes up to a nightmare, and Happy's not sure how to help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt by quintisforlife on tumblr "Quintis + Nightmare" Thank you!

Happy doesn’t know exactly what’s happening when she hears a scream from Toby’s side of the bed, but she’s awake in less than a second and has a hand on his shoulder in less than two.

“Toby, you’re safe,” she tells him. “Toby, look at me, what’s wrong?”

His eyes are wild and wet with tears, full of panic and some memory Happy can’t see. “Where – what’s going on?”

“We’re at my apartment,” Happy says, trying to stop her hands from shaking, “in my bed. Last night the two of us meant to have a romantic night but then we got so drunk on box wine playing that Clue drinking game that we fell asleep in our clothes.”

He blinks. “Right.” She watches him use that breathing technique he makes her do whenever she gets stressed out until he’s calm. Then he drops his head into his hands. But Happy pulls him against her chest, trying to make him feel safe.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Yeah,” he replies, tensing under her touch. “Just – I need a minute, okay?”

It takes Happy to realize, but he means he needs her to let him go. She scoots over, back to her side of the bed. “S-sorry,” she says. “I didn’t –”

“I had a dream – nightmare, really – that I was back in that warehouse.” He shoves the heels of his palms against his eyes. “And Collins – Collins had a gun pointed at the acid above my head.” He starts shaking. “God, Hap. I couldn’t move. I was – tied to that chair. I couldn’t go anywhere.”

She wants to comfort him, wants to make this better. But she doesn’t know how. “Can I – can I do anything?” she asks. She wants to reach out for him – it’s the only think she knows how to do – but she forces herself to stay still, not to touch him. He’s still remembering those ropes around his skin. Any touch will remind him of that, and Happy doesn’t want anything she’ll ever do to relate to that moment in time.

“Can – can I have some water?” Toby stammers. When he pulls his hands from his eyes, tears are smudged against his cheeks. “And, like, tissues.”

Happy grabs the tissues from the bedside and sets the box next to him, then gets up. “I’ll get some water. I’ll be right back.” she promises.

As she walks into the kitchen, she feels the cool tile bite against her bare feet. She hadn’t even remembered to put socks on before bed the night before. She fills a cup of water and grabs a bag of kettle corn sitting on the counter, mainly because it’s the only snack they can agree on and she feels like she has to come back with more than just water.

Walking back into the room, she smiles at Toby, who looks more stable now since she’s been gone, even if it was only a few moments.

“Hi,” she says, nearly a whisper. “You okay?”

Toby nods, running a hand through his hair. He reaches out and she hands him the glass of water. “Thanks,” he says, smile unsteady but there nonetheless. “Did you bring popcorn?”

“Kettle corn,” Happy corrects. She sits on the bed, cross-legged to keep herself from invading Toby’s space. “Want some?”

His smile grows. “You know what I want even before I think of it.” She hands him the bag, and he looks at her strangely. “Hap, you can come closer,” he says.

Happy’s not sure how much closer he means, so she moves her whole body so she’s sitting on the bed next to him. She doesn’t know what to do with her limbs. She doesn’t know how to help.

“Happy, I’m okay,” he says through a mouthful of kettle corn. “Just a nightmare.”

“I don’t want to make it worse,” Happy blurts out. “I mean,” she tries speaking with more control, more purpose, “the only thing worse than watching you hurt is knowing I was part of it. I didn’t want to do that again.”

Toby’s face looks strange for a moment, then he set down his glass and leans in, kissing Happy with gentle, quiet meaning. “Have I told you how much I love you?”

“Pretty much every day, yeah,” Happy replies.

“You gave me space when I needed it,” he begins, “and then asked how to help, and did that, and then you were so worried you came back and kept giving me space.” He beams at her. “That’s exactly what I needed.”

She shrugs. “I try my best.”

“I love you,” he says. “There’s nothing and nobody I’d rather wake up to, either from a nightmare or the best dream ever, than you.”

“Not even the best dream?” Happy asks. “That’s a pretty tall order.”

He leans back against the pillows, inviting her to curl into his arms. “My best dreams have you in them,” he replies, pressing a kiss into Happy’s hair, “so, no matter what, the real thing is going to be better.”


End file.
